Cuthona columbiana
(O'Donoghue, 1922)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Tergipedidae
PHOTO
Plumper Rock, near Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. August, 2001
Depth: 20 meters, Length: 10mm. Photo: Marli Wakeling
"quite common in British Columbia, is slender, and always has orange on the rhinophores, but may lack orange on the oral tentacles. The cerata are in simple transverse rows and have a smooth white line on them. The ceratal cores can be orange, reddish or brownish-orange" .... Sandra Millen
See message below.
See Sandra Millen"s message comparing this species with Cuthona punicea.
Reference:
• Millen, S.V. (1986) Northern primitive tergipedid nudibranchs, with a description of a new species from the Canadian Pacific. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 64: 1356-1362.
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (June 11) Cuthona columbiana (O'Donoghue, 1922). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/catrcolu
Related messages
Catriona columbiana feeding
November 10, 2007
From: J. Hildering & G. Miller
Some images I thought might be of worth as it shows 3 specimens of Catriona columbiana (with their distinct orange rhinophores) feeding on the species' favourite snack, the hydroid Tubularia crocea.
Locality: North East Pearse, 50, British Columbia, Canada, Pacific Ocean, 20 October 2007, Wall. Length: 2 cm. Photographer: Jackie Hildering.
Jackie Hildering and Glen Miller
earthlingenterprises@telus.net
Dear Jackie and Glen,
Right on again. Absolutely and a nice find at that.
Thanks for sharing,
Dave Behrens
Cuthona columbiana or Catriona
June 13, 2007
From: Bill Rudman
Concerning message #19979:
Clinton Bauder raises the question of whether Cuthona columbiana should be in the genus Catriona, where it is placed by most Nth American workers. For many years I have followed Miller (1977) and Brown (1980) in placing most species of the Tergipedidae in the genus Cuthona. This followed a long period of uncertainty where Cuthona, Trinchesia, Catriona, and sometimes Cratena, were all used rather randomly, Then Burn and others, introduced lots of monotypic genera to try and sort out the anomalies, which led to almost complete chaos. North American authors have continued to use both Catriona and Cuthona. Recently Michael C. Miller (2004) has proposed that Cuthona nana is the sole species of that genus and has resurrected Trinchesia for all the others. My feeling has always been that until we have a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships of the species in this family it is better to leave them all in one genus. It seems to me that taxonomy and nomenclature have two roles which are not always compatible - one is to provide a practical 'naming system' and the other is to produce a guide to the evolutionary history of a group. In this case, 'nibbling' at the problem by moving a species or two at a time, from one genus to another satisfies neither aim.
-
Brown, G.H. (1980) The British species of the aeolidiacean family Tergipedidae (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) with a discussion of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 69: 225-255
-
Miller, M. C. (1977) Aeolid nudibranchs (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) of the family Tergipedidae from New Zealand waters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 60: 197-222.
-
Miller, M. C. (2004) An appraisal of the identity of the New Zealand species of the aeolid family Tergipedidae (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Journal of Natural History 38: 1183-1192.
Bill Rudman
Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jun 13) Cuthona columbiana or Catriona. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20011Cuthona columbiana from Carmel, CA
June 13, 2007
From: Clinton Bauder
Hi Bill and Dave,
This is Cuthona columbiana (Catriona columbiana?) The other animal in 2 of the photos is Flabellina trilineata. The brown sponges I found these guys on was where I found Cuthona fulgens [message #19980]. The sponges were very fuzzy looking and seemed to have a variety of bryozoans and hydroids growing on them.
Locality: Carmel, 18 meters, CA, USA, Pacific, 03 June 2007, Rocky Reef (East Pinnacles in Carmel). Length: 7-8mm. Photographer: Clinton Bauder.
Clinton
gecko1@apple.com
Bauder, C., 2007 (Jun 13) Cuthona columbiana from Carmel, CA. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19979
Hi Clinton,
Apparently you were having a pretty good day. So many tiny aeolids. Yes to all your ID's, and Catriona columbiana for sure, with those opaque white stripes up each ceras.
Hard to say what they are feeding on, but my guess is the hydroids. I can see the polyps, but no way to ID it.
Thanks for sharing,
Dave
[See my comment [#20011] on why I am calling this Cuthona columbiana on the Forum - Bill Rudman]
Behrens, D.W., 2007 (Jun 13). Comment on Cuthona columbiana from Carmel, CA by Clinton Bauder. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19979Re: Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia
June 2, 2002
From: Marli Wakeling
Hi Bill,
Another confusing nudibranch from British Columbia, it appears. I thought that I would send some further detail about both this animal and Cuthona punicia. They are from the same area, but my first posting about Cuthona columbiana was from a very different locale, where there were no purple hydroids present. Thse animals were found only on and around Tubularia crocea, eating their stalks. The Cuthona punicea were only found on the polyps of the undescribed purple hydroids, and tended to be deeper.
Hope that sheds some light!
Regards,
Marli Wakeling
scubamarli@excite.com
Wakeling, M., 2002 (Jun 2) Re: Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7138Thanks Marli,
This sort of information on their food and habits is invaluable
Bill Rudman
Re: Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia
May 31, 2002
From: Dave Behrens
Hi Bill,
I would suggest that Marli have someone look at the internal anatomy of this species. Cuthona columbiana has orange rhinophores and oral tentacles. Also the white stripe up each ceras is usually unbroken. Marli's animals look externally like light colored specimens of Sandra Millen's Cuthona punicea. C. punicea has a white line on the oral tentacles and white specks over the cerata.
Dave Behrens
dave@seachallengers.com
Behrens, D., 2002 (May 31) Re: Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7101Thanks Dave,
From Sandra Millen's earlier comments I had assumed these animals with a broken white line were also C. columbiana. They have orange on the rhinophores which Sandra says does not occur in C. punicea, but I agree, in the end the anatomy will need to be checked. By chance I am also posting today some photos which Marli has identified as C. punicea. Would you agree with that identification?
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia
May 29, 2002
From: Marli Wakeling
Hi Bill,
Here is another example of Catriona columbiana, found on the same site as my other messages. You can see the hydroid food source, and eyespots are visible in the second photo.
Dive site: Stephanson's Reef, Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia.
Depth: 45 feet
Length: 5mm
Date: May 18, 2002
Photograph: Marli Wakeling
Marli
scubamarli@excite.com
Dear Marli,
Thanks for these photos.
Bill Rudman
Another Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia
October 31, 2001
From: Marli Wakeling
Hi Bill,
Here is another Cuthona columbiana; out in the open on a bryzoan and near orange cup coral. There don't seem to be any hydroids in the adjacent area.
Dive site: Steep Island, Campbell River, British Columbia
Date: Oct. 2001
Depth: 45 feet
Length: 7mm
Photo: Marli Wakeling
Marli
scubamarli@excite.com
Wakeling, M., 2001 (Oct 31) Another Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5575Thanks Marli,
Bill Rudman
Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia
October 25, 2001
From: Marli Wakeling
Hi Bill,
Here is Catriona columbiana, found close by Cuthona punicea [see separate message], but feeding on Tubularia sp. hydroids.
Dive Site: Plumper Rock, near Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Date: August, 2001
Depth: 20 meters
Length: 10mm
Photograph: Marli Wakeling
Marli.
scubamarli@excite.com
Wakeling, W., 2001 (Oct 25) Cuthona columbiana from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5534Dear Marli,
Thanks for this nice photo of Cuthona columbiana. I am following Michael C Miller (1977) in considering the genus Catriona to be a synonym of Cuthona. I realise this hasn't met universal acceptance, but the alternative is to recognise a genus for every combination of characters in the family which would not be very helpful.
Form my experience, the species with a Catriona-shaped radula tooth all are found amongst the basal stolons of the hydroid colonies they live amongst. I suspect they feed by breaking through the tough skin of the stolon [or stalk] of the hydroid and feed on the enclosed connecting tissue rather than attacking the polyps. If this is so, then the squat, apparently strong tooth shape, could be an adaptation for this feeding method. It would be interesting to know if your photo, with the animal far from the polyps, is typical of the behaviour of the species. Have you ever found it up near the polyps, or does it live nestled down at the base?
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Catriona columbiana not Cuthona punicea
June 29, 2000
From: Sandra Millen
Hi Bill,
I noticed Marli's photo captioned Cuthona punicea on the web. Unfortunately, the species in the photograph, as you suspected, is Catriona columbiana. The latter is quite common in British Columbia, is slender, and always has orange on the rhinophores, but may lack orange on the oral tentacles. The cerata are in simple transverse rows and have a smooth white line on them. The ceratal cores can be orange, reddish or brownish-orange. Cuthona punicea is a much stouter animal and has no orange on the rhinophores and branching rows of cerata. The cerata are dark purple and they have spots of white on the front which sometimes coalesce to form irregular lines. Cuthona punicea is rare and deepwater, eating an undescribed purple hydroid.
Sandra Millen
millen@zoology.ubc.ca
Millen, S., 2000 (Jun 29) Catriona columbiana not Cuthona punicea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2632Thanks Sandra,
As you are the author of Cuthona punicea, we can't have a much more 'expert' opinion.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Re: Cuthona punicea
June 16, 2000
From: Bill Rudman
In earlier messages I wondered about the differences between Cuthona punicea and Catriona columbiana
In Dave Behren's (1991) Pacific Coast Nudibranchs 2nd Edition there are photos of both. Both species have similar distributions and look quite similar. One fairly distinctive colour difference is that in Cuthona punicea the oral tentacles are translucent with a white line down the dorsal surface while in Catriona columbiana they are orange with white tips.
Bill Rudman.
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Jun 16) Re: Cuthona punicea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2589Re: Cuthona punicea
June 15, 2000
From: Erwin Koehler
Hi Bill,
Re reference to Cuthona punicea. It's Millen, 1986: 1356
Erwin
Medslugs.Koehler@t-online.de
Koehler, E., 2000 (Jun 15) Re: Cuthona punicea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2577Thanks Erwin,
For the reference. I've found the paper. From its anatomy, Sandra Millen considers the species to be a primitive member of the genus, close to Cuthonella. I wonder what its relationship is to the animal identified as Catriona columbiana in Dave Behren's photo.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Cuthona punicea from British Columbia
June 13, 2000
From: Marli Wakeling
Hi Bill,
Here is Cuthona punicea. It was found at Eggmont, British Columbia [Canada] at 45 feet on a vertical wall, amongst Hermissenda
crassicornis. Identification has been disputed between this species and Catriona columbiana. The lack of orange pigmentation and the shape of the cerata lead me to believe it is the former. This specimen was 15mm long. I have also found much smaller creatures on egg masses, also on a vertical wall at the same depth at Orlabar Point, near Nanaimo, B.C.
Regards,
Marli Wakeling
scubamarli@excite.com
Wakeling, M., 2000 (Jun 13) Cuthona punicea from British Columbia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2520Dear Marli,
Thanks for the photo. Can you give me a reference for Cuthona punicea? I haven't had an exhaustive look, but I can't a reference to this species.
Your animal however, looks identical to the one Dave Behrens' (1980) identifies as Catriona columbiana in
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
